NOVEMBER 2014, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre/Hazleton Edition of The Union News

Painters Union members not hired for construction project

BY PAUL TUCKER
THEUNIONNEWSSWB@AOL.COM

November 4th- The International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (IUPAT) District Council 21 in Drums, which represents painters, glazing/glass workers, and drywall finishers of the building trades industry, members will not be hired for the new University of Scranton building under construction on Jefferson Avenue in Scranton.

John Gatto, Assistant Business Manager of District Council 21, told the newspaper that a IUPAT signatory contractor was not hired for the painting contracting for the new University of Scranton $47 million eight-story rehabiliation building on Jefferson Avenue. In May the union picketed the Adlin Building renovation construction that is located across the alley from the new building. The rehabilitation center under construction is where the former Scranton YWCA was located.

The university hired some nonunion workers for renovations that were done on the upper floors of the Adlin Building, which houses several businesses on the ground floor.

Mr. Gatto stated that he has been waiting for months to see if the school of higher education would hire a signatory contractor that would employ District Council 21 members. However, he told the newspaper that they have not hired a union painting contractor for the huge project. Members of IUPAT Local 218, which is affiliated with District Council 21, will be picketing the construction site when the nonunion painters are working in the new building, which will likely will not be until early in 2015.